Content area
Full Text
© 2017 Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates
Hull, A., & Fournace, L. (2017). The impact of genitourinary syndrome of menopause on quality of life. Urologic Nursing, 36(6), 310-315. doi:10.7257/1053-816X.2017.37.6.310
Genitourinary syndrome of menopause is a highly prevalent problem among women. A review of the literature was conducted to determine the specific impacts on women's quality of life. Included is a discussion of the role of the advanced practice clinician in identifying and addressing patient concerns and negative impacts.
Key Words: Genitourinary syndrome of menopause, quality of life, vaginal dryness, vaginal atrophy, dyspareunia, urgency, frequency, urge urinary incontinence, overactive bladder, urinary tract infection.
Genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) is a commonly occurring assortment of symptoms affecting many women as they transition through menopause and enter into a hypoestrogenic state (Lev-Sagie, 2015). The lower urinary tract, vaginal, and perineal tissues are highly responsive to estrogen. Additionally, these specific genitourinary areas contain vast amounts of estrogen receptors (Portman & Gass, 2014). During a woman's reproductive years, the influence of estrogen on the genitourinary system enables the vagina to secrete lubricating substances, achieve a flexibility to accommodate change, and maintain a more acidic environment to reduce the risk of infection (Portman & Gass, 2014). As a woman evolves through the period of the menopause, anatomic changes, such as diminished collagen and elastin, reduced vascular supply, and thinned and retrenched tissue, frequently create symptoms common to GSM (Rahn et al., 2014). Symptoms often include vaginal dryness, dyspareunia, urinary urgency and frequency, urge urinary incontinence (UUI), and recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) (Rahn et al., 2014). Unlike the vasomotor symptoms many women experience as they transition through menopause, symptoms of GSM do not resolve with time but actually worsen as women continue to age (Palma, Volpe, Villa, & Cagnacci, 2016). The impact on a woman's quality of life (QOL) can be affected in varying degrees as these symptoms worsen.
The notion of QOL was first defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1995 and further refined in their position statement "World Health Organization Quality of Life [WHOQOL] Assessment" as "individuals' perception of their position in life in the context of culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards, and concerns"...